Doctors in child propofol death acquitted

Two doctors, sentenced in 2012 to six months probation and a fine of 75,000 euros for manslaughter after a child died of propofol infusion syndrome at a Luxembourg hospital, were acquitted by a court of appeal on Tuesday.

06.11.2013

(CS/js) Two doctors, sentenced in 2012 to six months probation and a fine of 75,000 euros for manslaughter after a child died of propofol infusion syndrome at a Luxembourg hospital, were acquitted by a court of appeal on Tuesday.

The case dates back to 2005 and saw a three-year-old child die of propofol infusion syndrome after being treated at the “Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg” (CHL) following an accident.

The girl had been admitted to hospital with severe head injuries after being hit by a car. At the hospital she was treated with the sedative Diprivan, which contains propofol. Over the coming days her condition worsened and she died during an emergency transport to the “Hôpital Universitaire St Luc” in Brussels.

Five doctors and five nurses were brought to trial over the case. At the centre of the trial had been the questions whether medical staff had acted correctly, whether propofol had been the right course of treatment and whether it was administered in the correct dosage. Additionally, questions arose whether the girl had been sufficiently monitored.

In early 2012, three doctors and all five nurses were acquitted in the first instance.

Two other doctors were sentenced to six months probation and a fine of nearly 75,000 euros, but lawyers filed an appeal.

On Tuesday, the doctors were acquitted by the Luxembourg Court of Appeal.